Skeleton
by Dog On the Moon
Summary: -Oneshot- She supposed Severus would always be her skeleton. Kinda maybe light one sided romance. Please R&R


A/N: Ah I've been a terrible poster! I missed 2 whole days! Well that's not entirely true. I tried to upload on Saturday but fanfic was down so I couldn't… But still. This is inexcusable. I shall upload another 2 to make up for it. At some point. But well I should just concentrate on tonight. This was something I started a while ago and then recently discovered and thusly finished. First songfic I've written in a really long time… Hope you like it! 

_Title: Skeleton_

_Characters: Lily Evans, Severus Snape, James Potter_

_Words: 2477_

_Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Skeleton Song by Kate Nash. However this story is mine… _

Once, in her fourth year at Hogwarts someone had asked Lily Evans what exactly Severus Snape meant to her. The girl had uncharacteristically taken a while to respond, in truth she wasn't exactly sure herself. Finally after several minutes of thinking Lily replied, "He's… He's…" She sighed and chewed on her lip, "He's like a skeleton…"

"What does that even mean, Lily?" Her friend gave her a quizzical and confused look and Lily just gave her a small smile and a shrug, a bit confused herself. It just seemed the appropriate way to put it, but really it made very little sense when she actually gave it any thought. They didn't bring it up again after that but Lily was always left wondering what exactly she'd meant by those words.

**Skeleton, you are my friend**

**But you are made of bone**

**And you have got no flesh and blood running through you**

**To help you protect the bone**

Even though Severus was extremely good at hiding all of his emotions Lily knew he was a lot more vulnerable than he let on. Behind that face of apathy the boy always managed to construct there was an air of intense pain. He had very little protecting him from the influence of his environment. That may have been why he was often so bitter, it was a defense mechanism.

She could see past it though, she had always been able to. Severus was very lonely and he clearly needed a friend more than anything, someone to be there when he needed them and so that was what she had become. Most of the time she was seen as both a best friend and a protector

**Yes, Skeleton, we have been friends for years**

**And you have seen me through some trials and tribulations and some tears**

**But everybody thinks I'm weird**

Throughout much of her childhood early teenage years Severus had always been a constant in Lily's life and she one in his. Whenever one of them was upset about anything the other would be there with a shoulder to cry on

The pair were sitting in their usual clearing of the small forest where they spent much of their time to get away from the other children. It was the first time that they had spoken again since after the incident involving Petunia and her letter to the headmaster and both of them were being very formal and overly polite. It was Lily who had made the first move to start talking again. After reading over her Hogwarts letter for the umpteenth time she had managed to discover more and more questions and concerns.

"But, what if they made a mistake? What if I'm not really a witch at all and this letter got sent to the wrong Lily Evans?" She whimpered waving the letter in his face again, "It's not like it's a rare name!" She continued to dither and mumble under her breath until the boy before her sighed and caught her flapping wrist gently in his hand.

"Don't be scared. It's going to be fine, really… You're already a great witch. You're probably stronger than I am already… Really. Don't worry about it. They'll definitely accept you," a rare smile was turning up the corners of his lips and she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She smiled slightly at him and he looked back at her with that odd half smile before he released her hand.

However, it was usually Severus who cried. Though everyone always said boys were supposed to cry sometimes he really couldn't help it. When the trials of his home life became too much for him he would slip and Lily would always be there for him whenever he needed someone to help pick him back up. She would always be there with a smile and a kind word. She was his first real friend

**Skeleton, we are so close**

**But you have got no body**

**So why do you insist on wearing clothes?**

"The 'Half-Blood Prince'?" She raised her eyebrow at him as she flipped through one of his books. The two of them were studying together in the library. Given their different interests and friends this time in the library was one of the few opportunities the two actually had to talk to each other.

The boy on the other side of the table flushed and snatched the book out of her hands, "I… That's…" Severus fumbled with his words trying to come up with a good reason that would satisfy her.

"Do your other friends think this is cool or something? I thought they didn't like half bloods," She cut him off tersely. Lily wasn't quite sure why seeing this new title that Severus had come up with upset her so much. Maybe it was just that seeing him try to 'fit in' so hard with that crowd or maybe it could have been a tiny spark of jealousy that they were starting to know him better than she. Either way it irked her.

Severus' flush deepened. It was now creeping onto his neck and ears as well as his cheeks, "It's not like that…" With another small pause he looked at her questioning green eyes, "I actually never meant for anyone to see that… I just wanted to… I wanted…"

"It's fine. Don't worry about it…" Lily cut him off again, giving her head a small shake. This time she smiled at him instead of glaring. Watching him struggle awkwardly like that induced the usual feelings of pity so for today she just decided to let it go for the time being. He was becoming different anyway so he must have a good reason must he not? Well, this time she was going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

**Skeleton, when we were young it was easier**

**Even though the other kids, they would tease me**

**I was only seven I had you, but now I'm 22**

Oftentimes Lily would reminisce about what life had been like when the two of them were just the oddball children back in Little Winging. One particular afternoon stood out in her memory as a particularly significant moment.

It was during the summer after their first year at Hogwarts and they had gotten together to talk about their experiences at school. Instead of going out to their usual clearing in the forest they had taken up a spot in the middle of the small play park one where children often gathered.

The two of them had just been sitting on the swings innocently discussing potions, a class in which both of them had excelled. However their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Petunia and a couple of her friends.

"Finally decided to leave that freak show you call a 'school'?" Petunia scoffed at Lily who was looking at her sister with an expression somewhere between fear and anger.

"Petunia please-" Lily tried to stop her sister but the friend standing on Petunia's right, cut her off.

"What is it that they teach at that school again? Magic wasn't it?" The girl's lip curled upward in a horribly derisive sneer, "Why don't you show us some of your _magic_."

For a moment or two Lily just sat paralyzed and unsure of what to do. There was no way that she could convince Petunia and her friends to just leave and they had told the first years repeatedly that they couldn't use magic outside of school. Maybe if she just asked them to leave again. Ever hopeful Lily opened her mouth but it seemed that she had taken too long.

"Or your little boyfriend could show us," Her sister's other friend was now looking at Severus who had hopped off the swing and was glaring at Petunia and her friends. He always looked scrawny and malnourished but it had never been more pronounced than at this moment as he stood in front of the three girls all of whom surpassed him in height.

However the sharp look in his dark eye was enough to give even them pause as he looked between the three of them, "Why don't you just get out," He snarled and Lily was surprised to see his wand in his hand. This set Petunia's friends off laughing even harder but Petunia herself was eyeing it with apprehension. She was aware that magic really was real, she had just been antagonizing her sister about it.

"Let's just go…" She muttered, not wanting to appear actually afraid of what Snape would be able to do but not wanting to run the risk of actually dealing with the two young wizards, "They're not worth it," She started to walk away and after another snicker and taunts thrown at Lily and Severus her friends followed.

"Thanks Sev," Lily smiled at her friend as he continued to glare after the girls as they walked away.

With a huff he sat back down on the swing, glaring morosely at the ground, "Yeah…" He mumbled.

"Really," Lily could see he was still upset, "You actually got Tuny to leave us alone, I've never been able to do that." She said encouragingly and she saw the tiniest ghost of a smile on the corner's of Severus' lips.

**And now it's different**

**When I take you out and you**

**You've got me standing in an awkward position**

**With unwanted attention**

**And a need for explanation**

**And it's not that I'm letting go of you**

**But I dunno what to do**

"Hey! Evans!" James Potter was hurrying towards her from down the hallway. He had an excited grin on his face and it looked like he wanted to show her something or another. Or he could just be trying to hit on her.

"Lily!" Severus was coming from the opposite direction, trying to catch up with Lily who glanced over her shoulder at the boy and then back at James. Oh Merlin she really didn't want to have to deal with a confrontation between Potter and Severus again. Those always turned out rather messy and often resulted in detentions and lost points for their houses.

Wishing that she could just disappear Lily continued to walk, pretending that she hadn't heard either of the boys calling out to her. Maybe if she just ignored them they would leave her alone..

"Evans! Come on I know you can hear me!"

No such luck apparently Lily thought bitterly as she was forced to stop by James who reached her at about the same moment as Severus did. The two boys glared at each other with Lily between them feeling incredibly uncomfortable. An awkwardly silent moment passed while all three waited for the others to speak first.

"What do you want with Evans Snivellus?" James was the first to break the silence as he glared at Severus who matched the look with equal intensity and dislike.

"Could ask you the same question Potter," He snarled.

"Do we really need to fight?" Lily looked between the boys who now seemed unable to actually hear her. The thought occurred to her that it would probably be better if she just got out of there now. She didn't want to be involved in any fights.

Thankfully an opportunity presented itself when she saw Professor Slughorn coming out of Flitwick's classroom.

"Er I've got to go," Lily looked apologetically at Severus, "Got to talk to Slughorn about that essay…" Before either one could stop her Lily had hurried off, feeling guilty about leaving Severus behind but somewhat glad that she didn't have to face the awkwardness of this situation.

**And sometimes, at night**

**I dream of the most terrible things**

**I take a hammer and I creep out of bed**

**And I raise it high, and I smash your head**

**Fibular and tibular and ribs and cages, too**

**In fact, while I'm here, I'll smash the whole of you**

****

That night after he had called her 'Mudblood' she had cried. It was like a punch in the stomach hearing that filthy word from his mouth directed at her. She'd had her doubts about him but that, at least for the time being, solidified them in her mind. In that moment, she hated him more than anything else in the world. She wanted to make him feel the way she felt.

For several minutes she wildly entertained the thought of cursing her oldest friend into oblivion. Hexing away all those cruel words and cursing the stigma that went along with them. Even just punching him in the face and screaming at him would have felt good.

However she could never do that. Firstly it wasn't in her nature to completely lose her temper like that and secondly, it was Severus and she could never bring herself to physically hurt him like that… But she made the decision she wouldn't speak to him anymore. If he wanted to break ties with her then she would break all her ties with him, completely shutting him out of the life and relationship he obviously had no interest in continuing.

**But...Skeleton, you are my friend**

**And I could never bring your life to an end**

**Yes, Skeleton, you are my friend**

**And I will be there for you until the end**

"So what about the best man?" Lily and James were sitting together on their couch discussing their wedding plans. They had become engaged two days prior to this and were still giddy with happiness at their good fortune in finding one another.

"Sirius. It's gotta be Sirius," James replied immediately without a second thought. He shot a look at his soon-to-be-wife's face to confirm that she would be alright The only other person he could even think of to be his best man would be Remus but Sirius was always and would always be James' right hand man, the only real choice in his head for something as important as this.

Lily had a feeling her fiancé would say Sirius. The two of them were practically family as it was and she agreed with James' choice wholeheartedly. However, there was a fleeting thought that ran through her mind. Severus. She knew that he would never ever _ever_ agree, the two had fallen out of contact and since he had joined the Deatheaters there was even less chance since they were currently fighting a war with them.

Even so, there was a tiny part of her mind that would never be able to let go of the image of the young Severus, lonely and awkward in his oversized coat telling her she would be a great witch some day. No matter what he had done and how she currently felt about him Severus would always be her little skeleton friend.

A/N: Wooo easily my longest one yet. Although part of this was done before this evening but still. I wrote like half of it tonight so that counts hahahaha. I'll post my two that I need to catch up on tomorrow! This one just took a lot longer than I expected. 


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